Toxic
by PianoxForte
Summary: Being with him was like trying to balance on a tight rope - one misstep and down she would plunge. Their whole relationship was built upon lies, misconceptions, and lust. He was like a toxin pumping through her arteries, running through her veins. His dangerous qualities were what enticed her. Consider yourself forewarned; this is not a sappy story. BulmaxVegeta, BulmaxYamcha


**Toxic**

_**Prologue:**__**The Beginning of the End**_

On the fateful day that Bulma had met Vegeta, she knew instantly that he was a dangerous man. He had power. He had anger. He had hate, and scorn and impudence. It wasn't necessary for him to speak to verify the facts. She could see the truth of it in his eyes – the windows to his dark and tormented soul. She could see it in the way he held himself. She could feel it in the chill that ran up her spine and permeated her whole body.

Before she even laid eyes upon him, his reputation had preceded him as an ugly person – both inward and outward. Naturally, Bulma was biased upon meeting him for the first time. She already had a set opinion – one that determined he was a horrible brute of a man.

He had killed her boyfriend, the love of her life – Yamcha. He had beaten poor Goku within an ounce of existence – along with countless others, some of whom weren't fortunate enough to make it out alive. She simply couldn't comprehend why Goku gave him a second chance. How could he after all of the damage that man – no, _monster_ – had caused? Why… if she had been there, he would have been dead meat!

She had first met him on a planet which perfectly suited the situation: a planet that was as alien to her as could be – just as he was. She thought that she had known him from the start, but don't let that fool you – she was greatly mistaken.

_The first time they met would feel like eons ago to her now:_

_She was shaking like a leaf. She wasn't entirely sure where Goku's little squirt was, but she knew that he was off trying to find a dragon ball, which was something Vegeta would not approve of. She was fairly certain that he himself was off trying to collect the dragon balls, and now she was about to receive the factual evidence from the fiend himself._

_Despite his rough appearance, he landed within 20 feet of her with a surprisingly graceful air. His boot made a small 'tak' upon touching the earth. The minimal sound was effective enough to give her heart a jumpstart._

_Bulma sorely wished that Krillin had had the foresight to hide the dragon ball that they had recently acquired and which now lay cradled in his arms. It stuck out like a bright, orange sore thumb. She wanted to scream at him to chuck it into the cave behind them quickly before Vegeta could make his entrance – but alas, it was much too late now, and not everyone could be a genius like her._

"_Well, well, would you look at what I've found here," Vegeta announced derisively. An annoyed scowl adorned his face. _

_His lips twitched upward into a smirk. "I have to admit. I'm surprised the two of you are still alive. We're far from Earth, and your hero likewise. Why… I doubt if anyone could hear you scream out here."_

_Bulma inherently began to edge backward. She had a feeling that even _her_ beautiful smile couldn't win her out of this one._

_Vegeta's gaze centered on Krillin. "You have what I want. Hand over the dragon ball, chrome dome."_

Her introduction to him in person only assisted in cementing in what she already thought of him: he was rude, callous, and he most definitely was a brute who cared nothing for that which didn't benefit him.

His attitude fit his princely nature to a T. It was to be expected that only a woman with the attitude of a princess could be attracted to the man. Bulma took this truth to be self-evident. However, back then she didn't know herself well-enough to realize that she fit the description without fault. She might as well have dropped the glass slipper for his retrieval and be on with it already, but that would make this story much too boring.

It would take Bulma many years before she could recognize that she was driven to men that could hurt her in some way or another. They gave off an unmistakable signal to her like that of a lighthouse beacon in the dead of night. It promised a ship safe sail into harbor, but unlike the simple lighthouse, these men weren't benign and helpful. They were akin to the most deadly of poison. One morning they were venom, but come nighttime, they morphed into a provisional antidote. She was caught in whirlpool of deceit, manipulation, and lust. She could not stay away from her poison. In fact, she willingly invited it into her very own home:

_Bulma was finally back on Earth, and although she was overwhelmed with the joy of being in a familiar place, she was tasked with the impossible: telling Gohan that it would be impossible for his dad to be wished back to life. _

_As far as she knew, Goku – one of her best friends – was dead. Wasn't that enough to deal with for the moment? But Gohan was already asking questions about the dragon balls and wishing his dad back._

_Bulma sighed exasperatedly. 'Where's ChiChi when you need her?' she thought_

"_Well Gohan, you see… your dad _can_ be wished back, it's just that if we wish him back… he'll reappear on planet Namek. You see, um, planet Namek was destroyed, and if we wish him back he'll come back to life in space. There… isn't any oxygen in space, and…"_

_Bulma's heart sank as she watched little Gohan's expression become more downtrodden by the second._

"_B – but, I'm sure that we can think of something!" she piped in without mulling it over properly. 'Yeah, _real_ smart, girl! Now you're just giving the poor little guy false reassurance!' she thought. _

_Gohan's countenance immediately lit up like a 60 watt light bulb. "You think so?" he asked excitedly._

_Before Bulma could respond, she was cut off by an irritated grunt – one that she would soon become intimately familiar with. She turned to face the prince with an incredulous expression. He was leaned up against a tree with his arms crossed indignantly and a scowl plastered on his face. One leg was bent at the knee with his boot tapping impatiently against the tree trunk. _

"_Enough of your pointless prattle!" he spat. "If you _really_ want Kakarrot back, listen carefully, because I'm _not_ going to repeat myself. The Earth and every other planet has a check-in station to the spirit realm. You can wish him there first, and then wish him back to life."_

_Bulma's mood was uplifted immediately. "That might _actually_ work! Kami can transport him from the check-in station back to Earth!"_

_Bulma excitedly did a small fist pump of victory. "Yes!"_

_She failed to notice Vegeta's sardonic eye-roll when her attention was brought back to him. "Wow! Vegeta, that was really smart! I'm _impressed_!"_

_Vegeta cast his attention elsewhere. "Hn."_

_Her opinion of Vegeta was rapidly morphing into something that vaguely resembled optimism. She should have known better. She should have trusted her innate instincts. Vegeta was a bad seed. He had absolutely no intention of helping her, Goku, or anyone else for that matter. He was simply using her to get to Goku. He desired desperately to know how his rival had reached super Saiyan. Manipulating the Earth-woman was just too easy!_

_Young and foolish Bulma warmed to the idea that perhaps Vegeta was misunderstood. He was the frog in disguise. She could mold him into a good guy. Yeah! That's why Goku gave him a second chance. Maybe Goku had a sixth sense for this kind of think. Just look at his current track record of converted baddies into good: Oolong – check, Ox-King – check, Yamcha and Puar – check! Tien and Chiaotzu – check, Piccolo junior – check! Bulma was starting to feel pretty good about her presumption. Surely she could convince Vegeta that the good side had its fair share of cookies too?_

_Again, without thoroughly thinking it over, she exclaimed, "Hey homeboy!" _

_Vegeta immediately snapped to attention. His eyes widened in confusion. "H – home what?" he replied. _

_Bulma felt a sudden pang in her chest. That was it, she was right. His reaction was just adorable to her._

"_Chill out, your majesty," she said with a giggle. "Just give it a rest with the arrogant, tough guy act already. You know you need a place to crash for a little while!" _

_Vegeta diverted his gaze from her once again. Regardless of his homeless status, he was not interested in handouts. However, a wee bit of stubbornness was _not_ about to dissuade Bulma now. Besides, she was practically the stubbornness queen. _

"_Just relax," she advised, her voice taking on a sensuous, appealing quality. "Take in a deep breath of Earth's fine, crisp, and fresh air! Seriously, Vegeta, you look like you're _long_-due for a vacation. My place is big, and you won't have to feel like you're intruding at all."_

_By now, Vegeta – who had never in his life been granted any degree of kindness or hospitality – was now gawking at Bulma with a look of pure astonishment. He couldn't think of a haughty reply to that._

_Bulma had a bad habit of not filtering out her thoughts from what came out of her mouth. Sometimes it landed her in a heap of trouble. This was one such time. She giggled again and gave Vegeta a charming little wink. "You know, you're actually kinda cute!"_

_Vegeta's face promptly drained of all of it color, and then subsequently returned as a solid bright shade of red. "Wha – what? What did? I'm not! Shuh – shut up!"_

_This is where the story truly begins:_

It would be false for me to say that all of Bulma's troubles began after she had invited the Saiyan prince into her home. She had already been in a relationship of many years which seemed to always be spiraling downward to some new low of which had previously been unaccounted for until hers and Yamcha's unearthing of it.

On many occasions, she had thought Yamcha was rotten, but she had yet to see the worst of it. As for Vegeta, he was in a totally different league of his own.

Regardless, the stage had been set, and fate was now unavoidable. It was as if she was cursed to have difficult, if not, impossible relationships. And Vegeta… well, his birth-name should have been 'toxic', because that's exactly what he was back then.

* * *

A/N: Wait a second… I thought I was going to bed! It's 2 AM! Why did I write this? Um… this awkward… I'm going to sleep now! :-/


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